Today in the Red Chamber, the First Reading of the National - TopicsExpress



          

Today in the Red Chamber, the First Reading of the National Postgraduate College of Medical Laboratory Science (est.etc) Bill, sponsored by Sen. Clever Ikisipo. The Senate also received the Report of the Committee on Trade on the Companies and Allied Matters Act amendment Bill 2014 as laid before it. Debates and submissions on the 2014 Appropriation Bill was also commenced today at the Senate. Senators discussed general economic situation of the country in relation to the Appropriation Bill. Some of them like Senator Ahmed Lawan and Sen. Yaradua called for the resignation of the Minister of Finance, who in their view has failed to move the country forward economically. They lamented the high growth ratings given to the country internationally which is yet to be translated to the living conditions of the generality of Nigerians. Sen. Yaradua said the economics of Ngozi Okonjo Iweala has failed Nigerians. Other Senators questioned the huge amount of funds allocated for Amnesty and Re-integration of Niger Delta Militants(59bn) which is less than what is proposed budget for security in the entire country(4.8bn). Though there was no outright opposition to the passage of the Bill, Senators expressed their reservations on the budget, stating that, the budget proposal does not reflect the current economic and political realities of the country. They noted that the issue of security is one critical issue in Nigeria whose allocation in the budget proposal does not adequately reflect the enormous security situation facing Nigerians. They expressed their dismay at the skyrocketing recurrent expenditures in each years budget, the depreciation of the Excess Crude Account and attacked the efficacy of Ngozi Okonjo Iwealas policies. Sen. Isa Galaudu noted that the Excess Crude Account has only 2.5m reserve while the NNPC is spending 10bn in running costs. Some Senators also suggested that the Sure-P funds be channeled into the rebuilding and maintenance of Nigeria refineries to stop the importation of PMS. The consideration of the 2014 Appropriation Bill was stood down, to be continued tomorrow- Wednesday, 29th January 2014.
Posted on: Tue, 28 Jan 2014 13:53:53 +0000

Trending Topics



Recently Viewed Topics




© 2015